Time and Time Again
by BraverStrongerSmarter
Summary: A mysterious ring is found with the power to control time. Will Leigh Kelson be able to use it to right the wrongs that have surfaced in her world? And will she discover who is behind these shocking changes? Based on the video game Time Hollow.
1. Of Emerald Rings and Soap

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Time Hollow**

* * *

><p><em>I open my eyes to another day.<br>To things that I have known,  
>Things that happen every day.<em>

Chapter 1 - Of Emerald Rings and Soap

It all began on a calm Tuesday afternoon in late March. Leigh Kelson was making her way from Care of Magical Creatures just behind a fuming Harry Potter and his equally frustrated best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

"I can't believe the nerve of that woman!" Ron huffed. "Giving you detention again. For no good reason. You know, Harry, I think she's got it in for you."

"Wow," Hermione said dryly. "Brilliant observation there Ron."

Leigh had to stifle a giggle at her dorm mate's sarcasm. Hermione wasn't normally known as a bitter person, but she supposed everyone was on edge with Umbridge as the new Headmistress at Hogwarts. No one really liked her, except for maybe the Slytherins, and with her constant additions to the rules, everyone's patience was running low at the moment.

Hopefully, the DADA curse would continue through this year and Dolores Jane Umbridge would be gone by the end of the year. Leigh didn't know what she would do if she had to endure another year with the toad. School was hard enough in normal circumstances. Now, they had an insane witch from the ministry heading the school, refusing to teach them anything of use, Voldemort was back and only a handful of people were aware of the growing danger outside of the walls of their fortress, and to top it all off, in just two months, Leigh was expected to take and pass all of her OWL's.

As the three made their way to the changing staircases, most likely heading back to the Gryffindor common room, Leigh took a detour toward the great hall. She had skipped out on lunch in order to complete her transfiguration essay that was due next class and she was really hungry. Luckily for Leigh, Professor Dumbledore loved tea time, so he made sure there was a plentiful amount of tea and snacks in the great hall around tea time, which just so happened to be right at that moment.

A flash of light made Leigh turn her head moments before she entered the castle. Something shiny had been left or dropped in the grass just outside the courtyard. Leigh stopped and bent down to pick it up. Opening up her hand, she saw a tiny silver ring with a green gemstone. The design was simple, yet very elegant. She was captivated by the small piece of jewelry.

Before Leigh even knew what she was doing, she slipped the ring onto her finger, admiring how it shone in the sunlight. Tiny green dots appeared all over her skin as she moved the gem back and forth.

"Whatcha got there?"

Leigh just about jumped out of her skin as she turned around to face her best friend, Fay Dunbar. The two girls had been sorted into Gryffindor upon entering Hogwarts, and had become inseparable, despite their differences. Fay was into Quiddich and excelled at potions and pretty much every other subject there was, though she wasn't as bookish as Hermione. Leigh, on the other hand, disliked the sport very much. She hated heights, and even watching the players on brooms made her stomach queasy. She also hated potions, as Professor Snape was bitter and unfair toward all the other houses but his own. She was, however, proud to say that she had received better grades than Fay in both Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies throughout all five of her years at Hogwarts, though the latter was mostly due to the fact that Leigh was a half-blood.

Her father, a muggle, though supportive of both her and her younger sister being witches, had insisted the two be brought up in both worlds. When they were younger they had attended a muggle school instead of being homeschooled as most young witches and wizards were. Over Christmas break that year, right after Leigh had turned sixteen, her father had even taught her how to drive his car. She had only taken Muggle Studies in order to help Fay out, and so she could have one easy class in her OWL year.

"Fay, you scared me half to death," Leigh breathed. "I thought I was going to pee my pants."

Fay laughed, her dark brown ponytail bouncing side to side as she skipped up in front of Leigh to examine the ring. "That's really pretty, where did you get it?"

Leigh shrugged. "I found it. Right here. Someone must have dropped it."

The tall girl smiled at her friend. That was another thing different about the two. They looked nothing alike. Fay was tall, standing at about five feet, eleven inches, with long dark hair and brown eyes. She was skinny, but that was because she spent every second she wasn't in class, eating, or finishing homework, working out. Fay was hoping that next year, after the Weasley twins graduated, she would finally be able to realize her dream of becoming one of the next Gryffindor beaters.

Leigh was much smaller than Fay, by about at least eight inches, if not more. She had dark ginger hair, nowhere nearly as vibrant as the Weasley's, dark blue eyes, and surprisingly very few freckles. Leigh was also skinny, but that was due to her extremely high metabolism. No matter how much she ate, Leigh never seemed to gain any more than her already 110 pound self.

"Are you going to try and find out who it belongs to?" Fay asked as the two began walking again.

"Yeah, I probably should," Leigh sighed as she moved to take the ring off. Frowning, she tried again. "It's stuck."

Fay reached over and began to tug on the piece of jewelry.

"Ow, ow, OW!" Leigh shouted as she yanked her hand out of Fay's, the ring still in place. "That hurt."

"Sorry, Leigh. We can try and get it off later. Maybe Hermione will know a spell."

Leigh smiled at her friend. "Or we could try soap and warm water. That always works for Mum."

Fay laughed. "You and your strange muggle tricks. I should just learn to expect these kinds of things."

The ginger stuck her tongue out. "Hey. My muggle ways are no stranger than your family sitting around the living room playing chess with moving pieces and reading about rabbits and pots with feet."

The two girls burst out into a fit of giggles as they took a seat at the Gryffindor table, the ring entirely forgotten as they quelled their grumbling tummies.

* * *

><p>"It's still not coming off!" Leigh yelled from the 5th year's bathroom. Fay poked her head in, a smudge of ink on her cheek.<p>

"Want me to help?" she asked innocently.

"No!" Leigh shouted, slightly louder than she had planned. "With my luck, you'll rip my entire finger off."

"Probably."

Leigh smiled and attempted once more to soak her finger and slide the ring off. It still wouldn't budge.

"Why have you been washing your hands for so long?" Leigh turned around to see a girl with very bushy hair poking her head in beside the place where Fay was standing.

"I'm not, Hermione. I just got this ring stuck on my finger, that's all. I'm trying to get it off."

The girl frowned. "Why are you doing it that way? Just use magic to get it off."

Leigh sighed. "Hermione, you're a muggleborn. Surely you know that magic isn't the best bet in every situation. Why should I use it when this way will work perfectly fine?"

"Obviously it's not working so well there, Leigh," Fay pointed out, trying hard not to laugh. "Come on. Just let Hermione fix it for you."

Leigh scowled and reluctantly dried her hand off. She didn't understand why the soap hadn't worked. It hadn't even loosened the ring. For the first time, Leigh wondered if the ring had melded itself to her finger somehow. And if it had, how come she hadn't felt anything?

"Relashio," the girl murmured, pointing her wand at the ring. Nothing happened. Reaching out, Hermione gave it a slight tug. It was as stuck as ever.

"That's odd," Hermione murmured. "I did the spell right. That should have worked."

Fay reached out and gave the ring a tug herself. Leigh bit her lip and ignored the sharp pain as her best friend tugged harder. With a determined look on her face, she pulled back in the opposite direction, hoping a combined effort would work.

Suddenly the ring slipped out of Fay's fingers and Leigh went flying backward, smacking the back of her head on the wall.

Fay shrugged, walking over to where her friend was sprawled out on the ground. "Tough luck there, Leigh. Looks like you're stuck with it forever." Holding out her hand, she helped Leigh to her feet.

"Forever?" Leigh cried, rubbing the sore spot on her head. "I don't want to be stuck with it forever. Sure, it's pretty, but that doesn't mean I never want to take it off. What if it's cursed? What if it tries to strangle me while I'm sleeping?"

"Does it feel evil to you?" Hermione asked calmly. Leigh shook her head. "And is it hurting your finger?" Again, the ginger's response was a negative. "Then I suggest you go to bed and then go see Professor McGonagall about it tomorrow."

Leigh sighed. The bushy haired bookworm did have a point. "Alright. You're right." She reluctantly climbed into her bed and pulled her covers snugly around her, hoping that there was nothing she needed to be worried about.

* * *

><p>AN: Ok, so this story is based off one of my favorite video games of all time...Time Hollow! If you've played the game, then you'll sort of know what's coming next. If not, stay tuned! It gets pretty exciting. Oh, and review if you feel led. I really enjoy reading what people have to say.


	2. Of Missing Scars and Lost Memories

**_Disclaimer: I dont own HP or the plot for Time Hollow. I'm nowhere near that awesome._**

_I feel there's a shadow creeping up on me  
>The wind blows through the streets<br>Telling me something I don't see._

Chapter 2 - Of Missing Scars and Lost Memories

A soft yet powerful smack in the face awoke Leigh the next morning. She groaned and rolled over, her head still throbbing from the night before.

"Leigh, get up. Breakfast starts in ten minutes, and we know how crabby you are when you miss breakfast."

Slowly, Leigh sat up and looked around. That wasn't Fay's voice. In fact, that hadn't sounded like any of her dorm mate's voices. Rubbing her eyes and blinking quite a few times more than necessary didn't change the scene in front of her. She had to be dreaming. There, standing before her bed was Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis.

"I've got to be dreaming," she groaned as she flopped down on her bed. Her green bed. With green curtains.

"No," came the same voice. "You aren't dreaming. It's Wednesday morning and you are going to be late. Now get up. You've got someone waiting for you in the common room, so hurry and get dressed."

"Someone…waiting for me?" Leigh asked, completely baffled. Who would be waiting for her? And why was she in the Slytherin dorms, with a group of Slytherin girls. Shrugging all her worries aside, she grabbed a set of her robes and quickly changed into them. If this was in fact a dream, which she was positive it was, then eventually she would wake up. Until then, she decided it was best to just play along.

Once she was ready, Leigh followed the two girls down the dim hallway and into the Slytherin common room. It was a very gloomy place, and Leigh shivered, whether it was from the damp air or the appearance of the room, she wasn't sure.

"Hey Harry," she yawned as she approached a boy with rather untidy black hair and piercing green eyes. "You forgot to put on your glasses." At least, if she was going to go through this dream, she wasn't in it alone. It seemed that Harry had also been transferred to Slytherin along with her. She wondered faintly how Ron and Hermione were holding up.

The boy looked at her strangely. "Harry? What are you talking about Leigh?"

Leigh stopped walking and took another look at him. He had Harry's eyes alright, and similar hair, though it was a bit longer than she remembered seeing yesterday. Had he accidentally gotten some kind of hair growth potion on it? Now that she stopped to think about it, she was sure this boy wasn't Harry. He was a bit taller than she remembered the boy to be, and his face was different. His eyebrows were thinner, his nose a bit longer, and his jaw a bit more defined. No, this boy was definitely not Harry Potter.

Still, she had to be sure. Without even thinking, Leigh reached up and brushed his hair away from his face so she could see properly. Just as she had thought, he didn't have a scar.

"Who are you?" she asked, clearly baffled by his appearance. He looked familiar, though she was sure she had never met him, and his eyes were definitely the same as Harry's. Was he maybe a relative? That was impossible. Harry didn't have any wizard relatives, did he?

The boy's eyes widened. "Who am I? Leigh, we've been best friends for five years!" He turned toward Daphne and Tracey. "She's joking, right?"

"No," Leigh responded slowly. "No, I am most certain that I have never seen you before in my life."

He was flabbergasted. "What happened to her?" he asked worriedly to the two girls beside him.

Tracey sighed. "She fell down and hit her head last night while we were getting ready for bed. It must have done more damage than we thought."

The boy reached out his arms and began feeling around the top of her head. Sure enough, Leigh winced as she felt him brush the spot she had hit the previous night.

Wait. How had these girls known she had hit her head? And she had thought people couldn't feel pain while they were dreaming. That's why you were supposed to pinch yourself to check.

"Ouch," she yelped as she pinched her arm. Was it possible that she was actually awake?

"Why did you do that?" the boy asked.

Leigh shrugged. "To check and see if I was dreaming."

He chuckled. "Still as strange as ever. You haven't lost that, even if you don't remember who I am."

"Speaking of that," Leigh began, "who are you?"

"I'm Noah. Noah Snape. You and I have been best friends ever since we rode the train together here before our first year and got sorted into Slytherin."

Leigh stared at him blankly. Noah_ Snape_? Slytherin? What in the world was going on here? Before she could open her mouth to ask any questions, she was interrupted by a loud growling sound. Blushing slightly, she glanced down at her stomach before reaching out and grabbing Noah's arm.

"Come on. We'll finish this discussion after we get something to eat."

Noah chuckled as she dragged him out into the hallway. "That's my Leigh."

"So you're telling me you don't remember anything about me, at all?"

Leigh shook her head as she took another bite of her jellied toast. "Nope. Not a thing."

"I don't get that. We're best friends! How can you forget me like that?"

She shrugged, not having any clue as to what to say. This person sitting next to her at the Slytherin table didn't exist, she was sure of that. "If I knew that, I wouldn't be in this predicament. Would I?"

Noah scowled and Leigh could really see his father reflected in him. "But we do everything together. I don't think we have spent a day apart except for summer holidays in all the years I've known you. But you remembered Potter? Before me?"

"Course I remember Harry," Leigh pointed out. "It'd be pretty hard to forget him."

"Oh, come on," he groaned. "Not you too."

Leigh was confused. "Not me too what?"

"Look, I know 98% of this school think that Potter is some god sent from the heavens, but I really thought you were better than those girls always throwing themselves at him."

"What are you talking about?" Leigh asked as she glanced over at the Gryffindor table. There he was, right in between Ron and Hermione, just like any normal day. "I don't have a crush on Harry. I never have, and I never will. And I don't know what girls you are talking about, but I've never seen anyone throwing themselves at him."

Noah shook her head and looked behind him. "Well then, you are blind. Look there, see." Leigh followed his gaze to Harry again and saw two younger girls standing before him, light blushes on their faces. She watched as Harry ruffled up his already messy hair and proceeded to talk to these girls.

"That's funny," Leigh remarked. "He's never done that before."

"Sure he has," Noah said, somewhat bitterly. "He does it all the time. Practically all the girls in this school want to date him. What is wrong with you?"

Leigh had gotten up from her seat and was making her way over to the Gryffindor table. She ignored Noah as he tried to get her to come back and sit down. She was determined to figure out what the hell was going on, and so far, Harry was the only lead she had.

"Kelson!" Harry said, a pleasant surprise in his voice. He instantly turned away from the two girls and directed all his attention to Leigh, messing up his hair once more.

"Harry…" she said slowly, noticing that he too looked different. His glasses were smaller, more rectangular, and his eyes were browner than she remembered. They still had a greenish tinge to them, but they were nowhere near what they had been.

She noticed both his and Ron's surprised looks. Turning to Hermione, Leigh was surprised to find out that the bushy haired girl also had an astonished look on her face.

"What?" Leigh asked, slightly irritated.

"You called him by his name," Ron spluttered.

"Don't I always?" she asked. For the first time she was unsure of the answer.

"You hate Harry," Hermione pointed out. "You have since first year. Even though he's tried to ask you out almost every day since."

Now Leigh was completely confused. Ask her out? Harry had never done that, ever. Even when he was looking for a date to the Yule Ball and had nearly run out of options, he hadn't asked her. She and Fay ended up having to go with third year Hufflepuffs.

"Right…" she said uncertainly, wishing that she would just wake up. "Potter." The name sounded foreign on her tongue. She didn't know how Malfoy continued to do it day after day.

"I like Harry better," he responded almost instantly. "Though I'll let you call me Potter as long as you agree to go on a date with me."

"She doesn't want to go on a date with you, Potter," Noah sneered as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "How many times does Leigh have to shoot you down before you get it through your thick skull that she's not interested?"

"Oh, stuff it Snape. No one wants you here. Why don't you just slither on back to your cave?"

"Why don't you make me, pretty boy?" Noah growled, pulling out his wand.

"Woah, woah, woah," Leigh said, holding out both her arms as Harry too pulled out his wand. "Everybody just calm down. I don't know what is going on here, but I am certainly no reason to start a fight." Once they had put their wands away, she began to speak again. "Now, will somebody _please_ tell me what is going on? Why am I wearing Slytherin robes all of a sudden? Why is Harry acting like he suddenly has a crush on me? Why are you – where's your scar!"

Everyone was staring at her like she had grown an extra head, but all Leigh could look at was Harry's forehead. It was clear, no scar in sight.

"What scar? Leigh, what in the world is wrong with you?"

Noah sighed, and Leigh noticed for the first time that his arm was still lingering by her side, brushing up against her hand. "She hit her head last night according to Daphne and Tracey. They think she's lost her memory."

"That's awful," Hermione gasped. "We should get her to Professor Merriwether straight away. She might know what to do."

"Professor Meriwether?" Leigh asked as Noah and Hermione dragged her out of the hall. "Who is that?"

"Potions professor," Noah explained. "She might have something that will help bring your memories back. Good thinking Granger."

Hermione smiled wryly. "Thanks, you know, I wouldn't mind it if you called me by my first name, Noah."

"Yeah," Ron panted from behind them. "What she said."

"Ron!" Harry exclaimed. "Are you crazy? Snape's the enemy."

Even though she couldn't see him, Leigh knew Ron was turning bright red. "Right," he mumbled. "Sorry Harry. I forgot."

"Potions professor?" Leigh asked, her mind whirling. "But I thought Sn – " she stopped herself before finishing. She supposed it wouldn't be too farfetched for Snape to have another job if in fact his son was standing right next to her.

I need to sit down," she moaned as they approached the potions classroom. "My head hurts."

Professor Meriwether was seated at her desk grading papers as the five students entered her room. She was a middle aged witch with long black hair and a sharp, angular face. Her eyebrows rose slightly as she surveyed the situation before her.

"What can I help you students with? I hope there hasn't been any trouble yet today, Mr. Snape, Mr. Potter. It's only eight o'clock after all. Surely the two of you have been able to keep control of yourselves so far today."

"Yes ma'am," Noah answered. "I mean, no ma'am, there hasn't been any trouble with us today. It's Leigh."

"Miss Kelson? You aren't one to give me trouble."

"You've misunderstood us Professor," Hermione began. "You see, Leigh hit her head last night, according to Noah. And well, she's lost her memories."

The potions professor stood up intrigued. "Lost her memories? Oh dear. That doesn't sound good. How much has she lost?"

"Well," Leigh cut in, frustrated that they were talking about her like she wasn't even there. "I don't remember Noah at all, and apparently we're best friends. And though I do remember Hermione and Ron, I apparently also don't remember all the times Harry asked me out. And I don't remember you. But I'm pretty sure I remember all the stuff I learned in school. We just learned about thestrals in Care of Magical Creatures the other day, right?"

The other students nodded. Professor Meriwether only looked more interested. "fascinating. You remember your schoolwork, but very little of your social life. And what of your family?"

"My family?" Leigh frowned. "Uh, I suppose I remember them. My Mum and Dad. And sister, Rosie."

Noah frowned. "Leigh, you don't have a sister."

"Yeah," Hermione put in gently. "And your parents died a year after you were born. In the Battle of 1981"

"They died in what?" she asked, not really believing them. Since it wasn't a dream, Leigh half expected them to shout out 'gotcha' at any minute, revealing this elaborate prank. But they looked serious enough.

"The Battle of 1981," Professor Meriwether explained. "Probably the most famous battle in all of history. The one where the entire united wizarding force drove out You-Know-Who, battered and beaten, all the way across the European border into Russia. A place where he still remains today, to broken and weary to be much of a threat to anyone?"

"Drove him out?" Leigh was so confused. She thought Voldemort had been killed, but had come back to life that past summer. What were these people going on about driving him out?

"Looks like she's forgotten her history too. Ah well, I'm sure I can whip up something within the next few days. Until then, make sure you all are patient with her and answer all her burning questions truthfully. We wouldn't want her to be upset with you when she remembers whether or not you are lying."

A shiver went down Leigh's back and she rubbed her arms trying to get the gooseflesh to go away. "Now run along children. I'll see you during third hour."

Leigh turned around and followed the Gryffindors out, with Noah bringing up the rear. Somehow, she was beginning to think that something was very wrong indeed.

* * *

><p>AN: So, Leigh's woken up in this unfamiliar reality where Snape has a son and Harry is the mirror image of his father, in looks and personality. See if you can guess what happened :) I think the change is fairly obvious. Oh, and review please!


	3. Of Hedgehogs and Pink Purses

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Time Hollow**

_Draw the line (and) turn the time  
>Taking back what was mine<br>Now I could change almost anything_

Chapter 3 - Of Hedgehogs and Pink Purses

As her day went on, things continued to get weirder and weirder for Leigh. Professor Lupin, whom she was positive had resigned due to him being a werewolf, was their DADA teacher and had been for five years now. Luckily for her, she liked Professor Lupin. He was a good teacher in general, though even Lockhart could have done a better job than that fluffy pink toad faced woman from before.

He began their class reminding them that their OWLs were approximately three months away and they should have already started to study by now. Leigh actually felt some relief at this. She would actually be able to study using actual spells, and she wouldn't get in trouble for it.

When Harry had originally come up with D.A. she had been ecstatic. Fay had come along with her and had learned alongside the rest of Dumbledore's Army, preparing themselves for their DADA exam as well as whatever the future held. However, when they were discovered, the club had shut down and she hadn't been able to practice since.

That wasn't totally true. She and Fay had practiced together in an empty classroom a few nights a week. One of Umbridge's rules stated that gatherings between more than two students were illegal, but with just the two of them, they technically weren't breaking any rules.

"Miss Kelson? Would you like to come up and give the spell a try?"

This class was supposed to be dedicated to mastering the patronus charm, a spell not normally taught to fifth years, but supposedly with Lupin as a constant teacher, they were ahead of schedule, so they had some time to learn the more fun spells.

"Sure," Leigh said as she stood up and made her way to the front of the room. "Though I think Harry would have been…" she stopped herself and shook her head. "Never mind." With the way things were going, he probably hadn't even learned the patronus charm yet.

"Alright, now, I don't expect you to get this right off the bat. I'll be very impressed if you do. But what you need to do is think of a very happy thought, one that fills you up, and then say the words: Expecto Patronum."

Leigh pulled out her wand and held it in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind and brought forth one of her happiest memories. It was one of her and Fay in one of the Dumbledore's Army meetings. She was practicing Expeliarmus with her best friend and the two had stopped when they noticed Fred and George Weasley using the spell on Neville Longbottom every time he would try and cast it on his partner. Once Harry figured out what had been happening and stopped it the twins, Fay, and herself couldn't stop laughing for at least ten minutes. She had loved those meetings and wished that she could continue with them. It was there that she had bonded not only with the Weasley twins, but Luna and Ginny, and Nigel and Dennis. There had been so many close friendships made and she missed that more than anything.

Blocking the sorrow from her mind, and focusing only on the joy the memory brought her, she opened her mouth and spoke the incantation.

She was as shocked as Professor Lupin was when a small, silver hummingbird shot out of her wand and began to flit around the room. All the girls squealed at the adorable creature in front of them.

"Excellent job," Lupin praised, his eyes still betraying his surprise. "Twenty points to Slytherin. I am impressed, Miss Kelson."

"Thanks," she muttered as she watched the tiny bird vanish above Daphne's head. "It's supposed to be a hedgehog though."

"Supposed to be?" Lupin asked. "You've done it before."

Leigh nodded. "Yeah, a few months ago. I wanted to try it out. But it was a hedgehog then."

"Well," Lupin seemed at a loss for words. "It's very rare for a patronus to change forms. Actually, it's rather unheard of, and only happens to witches or wizards that experience a major emotional upheaval of some sort."

"Well that explains it," she said. "I feel like losing my memories would qualify as emotional upheaval."

"Yes…" Lupin said slowly as she took her seat. "I suppose it would. Who else wants to try?"

Leigh sat back and watched as a few students walked up to the front of the class and began attempting to cast the spell. A few, like Noah, succeeded in casting a wispy silver image, but as the Gryffindor, now Slytherin girl watched, no one else had succeeded.

A sharp pain erupted from her head and Leigh cried out, clutching it in her hands. Images began to flash before her eyes faster than she could comprehend. Two girls, a slight ginger and a familiar bushy haired brunette, fighting in a bathroom somewhere. One of the girls tearing apart a dorm room. Two older ginger boys sitting alone outside.

When the pain subsided and Leigh opened her eyes again, she gasped in shock. The entire classroom was empty. Everyone had disappeared.

"Leigh." She breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the familiar voice. Grabbing her bag, she stood up to meet Noah by the door.

"Leigh, what are you doing?" he asked worriedly. "We're supposed to all be in the Slytherin common room right now. Dumbledore's orders."

"Dumbledore's orders?" Leigh asked confused as he grabbed her arm and dragged her down the hall. "What? Why? What about Defense class? Where did everyone go?"

"Classes have been canceled," he said shortly. "Granger's missing. She's been missing for almost two days now. Our head of houses are meeting with us in our common rooms to see if anyone knows where she is."

"Hermione's missing? But I saw her just minutes ago. We were sitting in Defense. She was two rows in front of me, watching Ron try and perform a patronus."

Noah shook his head. "That's impossible. No one's seen her for days. And classes were canceled. No one went to Defense today. We haven't learned patronuses yet."

Leigh's head hurt. What had just happened? What were those visions she had seen? Hermione and…Ginny fighting, about something. And Hermione was looking for something in the Gryffindor dorms. And who were those other boys?

"Ugh," she groaned to herself. "When will this nightmare end?"

The two Slytherins slipped into the common room just as Professor Meriwether began the discussion, telling the students what she knew and asking if anyone had seen the sixteen-year-old. Leigh kept her mouth shut and waited patiently until they were dismissed minutes later. It seemed no one had seen the girl, or had any idea where she might be.

Reaching into her bag to at least get started on homework, Leigh found a small note, crumpled up and scrawled on a ripped sheet of purple paper. She flattened it out and, making sure no one could see what it said, she began to read it.

_Your ring has very unique powers. When certain conditions are met, the ring will start to glow and you will be able to open a hole in time. Beyond the hole is a moment in the past. The holes you open must be closed or time won't start up again._ _Be warned, the holder of the ring must have the Time to use it._

_M._

So the ring that was still stuck on her finger could control time? Was that why she had ended up in this awful, confusing mess? The ring enabled her to remember the past that she had experienced, even when time changed around her? Could the ring help her get everything back to normal? Why was everything different anyway? And who was this M person?

Leigh took a deep breath to calm her mind down. What did she know? She knew that if 'certain conditions were met' she could open a hole in time, freezing the time around her, and hypothetically fix whatever had happened during the time on the other side of the hole. She knew that the ring allowed her to do this and enabled her to remember things the way they were instead of the past that had changed. She knew that she had visions from this changed past and she needed to figure out more about them before she could do anything. And she knew that she needed time to use the ring. Although she still was confused as to why the 'T' had been capitalized. What could that mean?

Sighing, she stood up and made her way to the doorway. Noah had taken a seat by the fireplace and didn't notice her leave. Leigh supposed everyone was a little shaken that Hermione had up and vanished. _Well,_ she thought, glancing at Malfoy's smug expression, _any decent person anyway._

As quickly as she could, Leigh made her way up to the Gryffindor common room. She had to talk to Ginny. The two girls had gotten into a fight about something, and now Hermione was missing. She was sure of it.

"Baubles," Leigh said, muttering the password she remembered without even considering if it had changed, or the consequences of a Slytherin entering the Gryffindor common room. The Fat Lady swung her portrait wide open; though she was quite irritated a Slytherin knew the password. No doubt she would change it soon.

"Leigh," came a surprised voice. The entire room was silent and she could feel dozens of pairs of eyes on her. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to Ginny," Leigh said slowly, meeting Harry's worried gaze.

"Me?" the younger, yet significantly taller girl asked. "Why me? What about?"

"How did you get in here anyway?" another ginger boy asked, though his voice didn't sound accusing.

"I said the password. The fat lady let me in, but forget about that. I need to – "

"Yes, but how did you know the password?" his doppelganger pointed out. "You're a Slytherin." Murmurs of agreement echoed around the common room.

"Look, I don't have time for this. I need to talk to Ginny about something very importa –

"What could be more important than how a Slytherin got our password?" a dark skinned boy asked. More murmurs echoed around the room, louder than before. Leigh could feel more glares coming her way. Had it only been a day since she had been one of them?

"Um, I don't know. Finding your house mate maybe. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to –

"Oi, Fred, don't you think it's a bit suspicious that this here Slytherin knows our password and now sounds as if she knows where Hermione is?"

His twin mirrored the boy's glare. "I think I do Georgie. Tell you what, Slytherin, you tell us how you know the password and we'll let you talk to Ginny."

"Fine!" Leigh huffed. "I woke up from a really vivid dream last night in which I was a Gryffindor and that was our password in the dream, so I figured I'd try it out first before I started banging on the portrait like an idiot and it worked." So maybe that wasn't the exact truth, but there was no way they would believe her if she told them what was really going on. She wasn't even sure _she_ believed what was going on.

"Blimey mate, do you think she is psychic?"

"You'd better hope not," Leigh growled. "Because I see myself punching the both of you if you don't shut up and let me talk to your sister NOW!"

Everyone was silent and Leigh turned toward the fiery haired girl. "Ginny, when did you last see Hermione?" It was a simple enough question. One that wouldn't arouse too much suspicion about how Leigh knew what she did.

"Uh, Sunday evening I suppose. In the fourth floor girls' bathroom."

Good. That at least matched up with the vision Leigh had seen. The two girls had been fighting in a bathroom.

"And your interaction was just like any normal day? A 'hello, how are you?' sort of deal?"

Ginny hung her head. "Not exactly," she murmured. "We sort of got into a fight."

Leigh frowned. "And you were the last one to see her?"

"I suppose so," the girl's face had gone red, almost the same color of her hair. "That was around 8 o'clock and if no one saw her between then and the next morning, then yeah. I was. But I swear I didn't make her disappear!"

"Is that what you're accusing her of?" Ron asked suddenly. "Because that's totally uncalled for. Why would Ginny try and get rid of Hermione?"

"Ron, chill out," Harry interrupted. "Leigh would never accuse Ginny of something like that. She's probably just trying to figure everything out."

Leigh rolled her eyes as Harry flashed a wink in her direction. "I'm not accusing you of anything, Ginny. I was just asking."

"Blimey, Gin." Fred or George said. "I didn't know you and Hermione had a row. The two of you were such good friends."

Ginny's face flushed even more. "It was stupid really. I had saved up some money to get you and George something for your birthday, but Meriwether gave me a detention Sunday, so I couldn't go to Hogsmeade to get it. I asked Hermione to pick it up, but she lost the money. I was really upset and angry at her. It took me months to save it all up. I guess I got a little out of control. And now Hermione's missing."

The younger girl broke down crying and Fred and George shot Leigh evil glares as they moved to comfort their little sister. The rest of Gryffindor house had also started to give her hostile glares, so Leigh decided it was time for her to leave.

Silently, so she didn't draw any more attention than necessary, Leigh slipped out of the common room and began making her way down the hall. She now knew that Ginny and Hermione had fought three days ago in the girls' bathroom on the fourth floor. Hermione must have lost the money Ginny gave to her, which would explain the other picture of Hermione searching her dormitory. She must have been looking for it. But what had happened to the money? Maybe she had dropped it somewhere and someone had picked it up. If that was the case, it could be anywhere in the school.

Leigh groaned. This was going to be harder than she thought. How was she supposed to fix the past if she didn't have the money to put back? She was about to give up and return to the common room when a blonde haired boy caught her eye.

Draco Malfoy was standing at the bottom of the staircase by the fourth floor along with Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode, and in his hand he was holding a small pink coin purse.

"Where did you get that?" Leigh asked abruptly as she stared Draco in the eye. He smirked, but the hatred that she was used to receiving was missing.

"I found it walking down the hall the other day. I don't know who dropped it, but there's quite a bit of money in it."

The ginger girl scowled. Holding out her hand, she waited for Draco to hand it over. He sighed and turned to face her.

"Alright. I'll give it back to you on one condition."

Leigh raised her eyebrows at him. What on earth could the boy want with her? The only thing she could think of was help with homework or something of that sort. Well, she'd be happy to agree to write his essay as long as she could get that bag back.

"Fine. What do you want?"

Draco smirked. "I want you to kiss me."

Leigh blanched. "You want what?" Was everyone in this reality trying to get with her? Why was she so interesting all of a sudden?

Pansy gave an annoyed huff and stormed off, causing Millicent to follow, but Draco didn't seem to care. He held the bag out in front of her expectantly, a sly, yet slightly attractive smirk adorning his face.

Rolling her eyes, she reached out and took the purse, stuffing it deep into her robes.

"Excellent," Draco murmured, taking a step closer and placing his hands on her hips. Leigh shut her eyes and waited for the moment to pass, hoping this would be a fast kiss. She had things to get done.

A low chuckle caused her to open her eyes again. She found that she was staring directly into Draco's blue grey eyes. He was smiling at her and she groaned inwardly as she felt his arm wrap around her waist.

"I said I wanted you to kiss me. Not the other way around."

"Fine," she huffed as she leaned in closer. His lips were surprisingly soft and she found, much to her chagrin, that she was actually enjoying the kiss. Especially when his other hand moved up and cupped the side of her face.

The kiss wasn't going to change anything about the way Leigh thought of Draco. He was still a snotty nosed baby that had no real talent. But that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the experience of kissing him. Leigh hadn't really had much experience kissing boys before. She had only ever had one boyfriend – Seamus Finnegan. And they had only dated for two months before she broke it off.

As Draco began to deepen the kiss, Leigh found herself struggling to remember what exactly it was she was supposed to be doing. All she could think about was Draco's hand on her waist, and tangled in her hair. Draco's lips on hers. And a slightly uncomfortable weight on the right side of her robes.

Of course. The money. Pulling back from the kiss, Leigh gave the boy a sly smile that she didn't even know she was capable of.

"Damn," he breathed. "You're a good kisser."

Leigh nodded in his direction. "You aren't so bad yourself. But unfortunately, I have to be going. Catch you later Malfoy."

In less than a minute she had entered the bathroom, arriving at the exact spot where her memory said the argument had taken place. Only when she had caught her breath did she realize that she had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to do. Somehow, the ring on her finger would open a time hole and she would be able to put the money back where it belonged.

"This is crazy," she muttered. "I'm crazy."

Suddenly, the ring began to emit a bright green light. Raising her hand so she could inspect it, Leigh watched as the light from the ring began to pulse lightly. Hesitantly, she held it out in front of her and drew a circle in the air. Her eyes widened in astonishment as the area she had encircled flashed green momentarily and then cleared to reveal the scene between the two girls. They were standing a few feet apart from each other, angry expressions on their faces, but neither one of them were moving.

"Time has completely stopped," Leigh breathed as she looked around her. Time had also stopped on her side of the hole, she noted as she spotted a drop of water frozen in midair on its way from the spicket to the sink.

"This is completely insane," she muttered as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the small coin purse. Squeezing her eyes shut, she reached her hand out and through the hole. She half expected it to disintegrate in front of her, but when she didn't feel any pain, Leigh was resigned to opening her eyes. Gently, she placed the money bag on the floor next to Hermione's foot. There was no way she or Ginny could overlook it.

Once her hand had been removed from the portal, Leigh pointed her hand at the hole and, with another flash, it disappeared.

The soft plop behind her let Leigh know that time had once again picked back up. She let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding and slid to the floor. Had she just done that? Had she really changed time? Had Hermione showed up? Or was it all for naught?

Gritting her teeth, Leigh got back up on her feet and exited the bathroom. There was only one way to find out.

* * *

><p>AN: Finally we get into the interesting stuff! This story is really fun to write. I hope you guys are enjoying it. Review please! :)


	4. Of Silver Knives and Pools of Blood

**Dislclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize**

_Hold tight, search for the light  
>Do I know what's wrong or right?<br>Put the pieces back where they belong._

Chapter 4 - Of Silver Knives and Pools of Blood

With the discovery that Hermione had, in fact, returned, that she had never actually been missing in the first place, came the realization that Leigh had stumbled upon a very unique power. However, the day's events had taken its toll on the sixteen year old, so instead of dwelling on it, she climbed into bed and fell asleep.

Leigh awoke early the next morning. She had neglected to shower the previous day, due to the unfortunate circumstances that had been thrust upon her, so she wanted to be sure she had enough time to shower and change before breakfast. Maybe, if she was feeling like it, she would even style her hair and put on some make up instead of leaving her hair in pigtails like she did every day.

The water felt cool and refreshing on her skin, and Leigh was wide awake by the time she stepped out of the shower and dried herself off, including her hair which she instantly dried with her wand. She was halfway buttoning her shirt up when she finally glanced at the mirror in front of her. The steam had cleared and she could see herself perfectly. The image staring back at her startled her so much that Leigh almost collapsed on the floor.

Luckily Daphne entered the room at that second and rushed to her side. Leigh was bent over the sink, her white knuckles gripping the marble surface.

"Breathe, Leigh. Breathe."

Leigh took in a huge gulp of air as she finally remembered how to breathe. When she finally regained her composure, all she could do was stare at her reflection.

"What happened to you? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"Have I – have I always looked like this?"

While Leigh was still the same size and shape that she had been before, she still looked different. Her hair was the same length, but it looked softer, and had a gentle curl to it that she had always tried in vain to achieve in the past. Her eyebrows were perfectly arched and her skin was much smoother and healthier than she remembered.

Daphne looked at her strangely. "Looked like what?"

"Beautiful."

Leigh looked away startled as the other girl started to laugh. "I know you lost your memory, but goodness, I thought you would at least remember what you looked like. You're the envy of our entire year, and possibly the two years above us. Leigh, Harry Potter has asked you out every day since third year, Pansy tells me that all Draco talks about is you, and when Noah's around you, he can't seem to take his eyes off you."

The last statement surprised Leigh. "Noah likes me?"

"Wow, you really are oblivious. He's totally been in love with you for ages. And before all this memory loss happened, you liked him too."

Leigh frowned. She didn't understand how that was even possible. Before she had even appeared in this reality, Noah hadn't even existed. So how could she have liked him?

"Daphne, can I ask you something?"

The blonde smiled gently, her eyes displaying her consent.

"What was I like, before I lost my memory?"

Daphne sighed and began to style her hair, making sure it fell in brilliant waves down her back. "You were…different. A lot…well I guess the best word to describe it would be colder. You were fine around other Slytherins, but you hated kids from the other houses. And you had this air about you, like you thought you were better than everyone else."

"That doesn't make any sense," Leigh murmured, thinking back to the way she behaved before everything had happened. "My parents would have never allowed me to behave that way."

"Your parents?" The blonde girl had a worried look on her face. "Leigh, your parents died in the great battle. You've been raised by your uncle since you were two. Don't you remember?"

Leigh shook her head. She wanted everything to go back to normal. She hadn't asked for this crazy, time altering life. She just wanted to finish out her year without having to worry about her past changing every other minute.

"Come on." Daphne's voice was gentle and sympathetic. "Let's go get some breakfast. Maybe Noah can take your mind off of everything until Professor Meriwether gets that potion ready for you."

She didn't argue. Arguing would take up too much brain power, something Leigh didn't possess much of anymore.

Leigh cried out as a familiar pain entered her head. Flashes of events pooled behind her eyes as she struggled to push them away. This time she saw the potions classroom, empty of all students. And a contrasting image of the room full of students laughing at their classmate's expense.

When she finally opened her eyes again, she had somehow appeared in the library. Noah was sitting at the table across from her, a charms book open in front of him, but his essay remained blank.

"Having trouble starting?" she asked, not even bothering to try and work out what had happened this time. She believed everything would become clear soon enough.

Noah looked up at her, his face weary. "It's kind of hard to concentrate with everything that happened today. I still can't believe Potter _killed_ someone. Even if that someone was Draco."

"Harry killed someone!" Leigh hissed, not believing what she was hearing. That wasn't possible. The Harry she knew wouldn't kill anyone. Ever. And from what she'd seen of this Harry, she still doubted he would be able to kill.

"Yeah," Noah responded. "Where have you been, Leigh. Today in potions. He and Draco got into a fight. They were rolling all over the floor, punching and hitting each other. And then all of a sudden, Harry had a knife and had stabbed Draco with it." The boy shuddered. "It was horrible."

"I can imagine." Leigh was still having a hard time grasping the idea that Harry had killed Draco. With a knife no less. "Are you sure Draco's dead?"

Noah nodded gravely. "Positive. I saw the look Professor Meriwether's face. She looked absolutely devastated. So did the other teachers. Potter could be sent to Azkaban for this. At the very least he'll get expelled."

Leigh frowned. So the vision of the potions room was where the fight had taken place. Then what had the other one been about? "Noah, what were Harry and Draco fighting about?"

Noah glanced around the library, but no one was paying attention to the two Slytherins whispering in the corner. "It was stupid really. Potter played a prank this morning and Draco happened to walk right into it. It was just before potions started. Potter set up a bucket of slime above the door and dumped it on Draco when he walked through. It turned his hair bright pink and stained his robes really bad. Draco lost it and just lunged at Potter. The two fought and then…well, you know."

So that was what had happened. Harry was just trying to defend himself. But still, Leigh knew she had to fix this. Maybe if she took the knife away. Then Harry wouldn't be able to hurt Draco. That sounded like a pretty safe option. Take the weapon away and the teacher would intervene before anyone else got hurt.

"Sorry, Noah. But I have something I have to do." She hurried out of the library before the boy could say anything else. The sooner she fixed this problem, the sooner she could begin to look for clues that would help her get her old reality back.

The hallways from the library to the dungeons were empty. Leigh had never seen the castle this quiet before, not even when Cedric Diggory had died the previous year. She wondered, was he alive in this reality? She hadn't seen him around, but then again, she really hadn't been looking.

As she descended the steps into the dungeons and rounded the corner, she ran smack into a hard body, sending her sprawling to the ground.

"Miss Kelson," a surprised potions professor exclaimed as she held out her hand to help the younger girl up. "What has you in such a hurry?"

"Sorry Professor Meriwether," Leigh said, trying to think up an excuse quick. "I just heard about what happened to Draco….and well, I had to see for myself."

Professor Meriwether looked at the girl with a spark of worry in her eye. For a moment, Leigh wondered if she had said the wrong thing.

"Leigh, honey, you were here when it happened."

_Shit,_ Leigh thought. How could she have been so careless? Noah had told her it had taken place before potions class. Of course she would have been there.

"I was?" she asked innocently, hoping she would still be able to play off her memory loss.

The professor sighed. "Your head must have been hurt worse than I originally thought. I'm taking you straight to the hospital wing."

Leigh's eyes flicked to the potions room, and then back again. She tried not to let her frustration show. She was so close! But there was nothing she could do except let the woman lead her back up the stairs to the fourth floor.

"Poppy," Professor Meriwether called as the two entered the hospital wing. Leigh took a seat on one of the nearby beds. For some strange reason her head had started to throb on the way up. Maybe there had been more damage done to her head than she had thought.

"I'm in my office Sara," came the weary voice of the mediwitch. Leigh watched through half closed eyes as the potions professor headed towards the back room, her black cape swishing behind her. Leigh chuckled to herself. Did all potions professors dress like bats?

"I'm glad someone in this school is still able to laugh."

Leigh turned her head, the pain having receded slightly, to find Harry lying down on one of the beds on the far side of the room, his hands folded neatly on his stomach, his eyes staring up at the ceiling.

Slowly, the red haired girl stood up and made her way over to the boy. He didn't even glance her way. She took a seat on the edge of the bed next to him and placed her hand gently on the side of his face, turning it towards hers, so their eyes locked. The hazel pair closed as Harry took a deep breath.

"I keep expecting to wake up," he murmured, his eyes still closed, his hand reaching up to touch hers. "It has to just be a bad dream. And I'll wake up soon."

"Harry," Leigh breathed, her heart twisting in her chest. This couldn't be happening.

His eyes opened, and Leigh saw, for the first time, tears pooling behind his unfamiliar glasses. "What will my parents think?" he asked frightfully. "I'll never be able to look at my dad again. Not after what I've done. And my mum, I've let her and little Rachel down. How do you tell a three year old that her brother killed someone? For no reason."

It was still a strange concept to Leigh, the thought of Harry having a family – a sister. She wondered for the first time since this chaotic adventure had begun, why You-Know-Who hadn't come after him like before.

Leaning closer to the boy, Leigh brushed away the hair from his forehead. Her finger brushed lightly over the area where his scar should have been. There was still nothing there. Gently, she pressed her lips to his skin as the boy began to cry.

"Shhh," Leigh soothed as she gathered his head to her chest and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "It's going to be alright."

"I would give anything to take it all back," he sobbed, his tears soaking through her uniform. "Anything."

"I know," she murmured as she pulled back and looked him straight in the eyes. "Harry, I need you to do something for me."

He quickly caught on to her serious tone. "Anything. You know I would do anything for you, Leigh."

Leigh felt her heart flutter at the sincerity of his words and she fought to keep the blood from rising to her cheeks. "I need you to tell Madame Pomfrey that I'm getting sick in the loo."

Harry frowned. "What? Why?"

Leigh stood up. "I'm going to fix this Harry. I promise. But I need those two off my tail in order to do it."

The boy looked at her incredulously. He probably thought she had lost her mind. And she wouldn't blame him for thinking so. She would probably have thought the same thing. "How?"

The ginger shook her head. "I can't explain now. And if it works, you won't have realized that it has." She stopped herself. No use in confusing the boy.

"Just keep them busy for five minutes. That's all I need." Harry nodded his head, though his eyes were still confused and not hopeful in the slightest. Leigh scurried off down the hall and made a beeline for the dungeons. This time, she made it there without incident.

The room was a wreck. There were cauldrons toppled over, and papers littering the floor. By the looks of it, Professor Meriwether hadn't had the time to clean up after the incident.

Leigh took a few steps forward, a puddle of red on the ground catching her eye. Blood. It must be Draco's.

Suddenly, the ring on her finger started shining again. She held up her hand like before, and drew a circle in the air.

Time stopped as a neater version of the classroom she was standing in appeared. There, on the table in front of her, was the accursed knife. Leigh reached forward and grabbed it by the handle, careful not to cut herself with it. Only once it was carefully stowed away in her pocket, did Leigh close up the hole and start time up again – hoping that her actions would be able to make a difference.

* * *

><p>AN: I'm quickly catching up to the chapter I'm currently writing. I'm only two chapters ahead now, so the updates might be slowing in frequency a bit. Let me know what you think! Review please! :) Thank you!


	5. Of Secret Notes and Blackened Eyes

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

Chapter 5 - Of Secret Notes and Blackened Eyes

The result was instantaneous. Leigh stifled her cry as her head began to ache once more. She grabbed it in an attempt to dull the strong pain, all the while trying not to pass out as more visions flashed through her mind.

The same image of the laughing class was first, followed quickly by an image of two boys, one blonde and one dark haired, obviously engaged in a rather brutal fight.

When she opened her eyes, Leigh found herself lying on the floor of the transfiguration classroom, her head propped up against something soft, and warm. There were several heads above her, all staring down at her with concern in their eyes.

"Miss Kelson?" Leigh turned her head slowly and saw Professor McGonagall standing before her, motioning for the other students to back off. "Leigh, can you hear me?"

"My head," Leigh moaned as she tried to sit up. Strong hands held her down as a familiar voice began to speak.

"Leigh, don't move. You could hurt yourself more."

The girl sighed. "I'm fine, Noah. Really."

"No, you're not fine," the boy argued. "You just passed out. I should take you to the hospital wing."

"But I was just at the hospital wing," Leigh groaned, forgetting that the reality in which she had comforted Harry probably didn't exist anymore.

She flinched inwardly as she saw Noah's eyes flick to Professor McGonagall's and then back again. There was no getting out of it. She was going to have to go.

"Fine," she conceded, attempting to stand up. But Noah was quicker. With one fluid motion, he slipped his arm under her legs and lifted her up, much to her chagrin.

"Noah!" Leigh protested as he carried her down the hall and towards the staircases. "This is ridiculous. Put me down!"

He shook his head, a glimmer of laughter in his eyes. Leigh smiled. She was glad that he wasn't so worried anymore. He had looked really scared while she was lying on the ground. "I'm not putting you down until I know you'll be ok."

"What happened?" Leigh asked finally, after a long moment of silence.

Noah sighed. He turned the corner, not saying anything, and sat the two of them down on a bench in the hallway. With Leigh seated comfortably on his lap, he began to speak. "It was awful. We were walking into class. I had just taken my seat, then Weasley and Granger came in, and everyone started asking them how Potter was doing. You got this really weird look on your face. Your eyes got all unfocused and you started to sway. I only just caught you in time."

Leigh frowned. It was a lot to take in. Maybe there was something wrong with her brain. Maybe all these memories were just fabricated. Was it possible for her brain to make it all up? Was anything real anymore?

"What happened to Harry?"

Noah's eyes widened, and Leigh felt his arms pulling her closer to him. "You mean, you don't remember?"

The girl sighed. "I guess not."

"Oh, Leigh," the boy breathed and pulled her head against his chest. Leigh couldn't see if there were tears in his eyes or not, but by the way he was shaking, she wouldn't be surprised if there were. "Leigh, you're scaring me."

Her heart gave a twinge. "Noah." She pulled back to look into his bright green eyes. He looked so lost. "I wish there was something I could do."

"Me too," he said, wiping away a tear. "Do you – do you still not remember me?"

Leigh was surprised to find her eyes swimming with tears as well. She tried in vain to blink them away. "I'm sorry, Noah. Before yesterday, I have no memory of you, at all."

The boy exhaled loudly in an attempt to stop more tears from flowing. He removed one of his hands from her side and brought it up to brush her cheek, wiping away a lone tear.

"Can, can I try something?" he asked, gazing into her eyes. Leigh nodded. It was worth a shot, wasn't it? Maybe she really was suffering from memory loss. Maybe those memories of her as a Gryffindor were her brain's way of replacing old memories so she didn't feel so out of control.

Noah cupped the side of her face with his hand and gently brought it closer to his, brushing his lips against hers. Leigh could feel her heart fluttering in her chest, but no new memories resurfaced. Noah was as much of a stranger as before.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears filling her eyes once more. Why couldn't her life be simple like everyone else's?

"Shh," he soothed. "It's not your fault." He was trying to be cool about it, but Leigh could tell he was hurting. "We'll just have to make some new memories until your old ones come back, ok?"

Leigh smiled as Noah gently stood her up and the two walked towards the hospital wing. The girl took a seat on the same bed she had before while Noah went to go fetch Madame Pomfrey.

"Leigh?" a voice asked from beside her. She turned around to see Harry lying down on a bed not too far away. He looked horrible. His left eye had been blackened and there was still a bit of dried blood on his cheek that the mediwitch had missed.

"Harry!" she exclaimed. "You look awful. What happened?"

"I got into a fight with Draco," he muttered. "He kicked my ass."

Leigh struggled to hide a smile. At least he was mature enough to admit he lost. Then her smile faded. She had taken away the knife, hadn't she? Why didn't that stop them from getting hurt?

"What were the two of you fighting about?" she asked curiously.

Harry frowned. "It was stupid really. I pulled a prank on him. And, naturally, he got pissed off. He said something and I just lost it."

"What did he say?" Leigh pressed. She had to know as many details as possible.

The boy sighed. "He said 'You're so immature Potter. You should really start acting more your age or someone else might just snatch up your girl.'"

Leigh blushed. So the fight had really been about her. It was such a strange concept – boys fighting over her. She wasn't sure if she liked it. "You shouldn't have taken the bait."

"I know, but he just makes me so mad. And the thought of him, with you. It just, I couldn't take it."

"Look," the girl began, "I'm flattered that you like me so much, really. But I've got too much going on right now. I just can't be with anyone, ok?"

Harry smiled. "I've gotten used to waiting," he pointed out.

"Yes, but – "

"Besides," he cut in, "this is the nicest you've been to me in all our years at Hogwarts. That has to count for something, doesn't it?"

"Harry, I don't think you're getting my point."

The boy ignored her. "So, how about going on a date with me, after I get cleaned up here? Spring holiday starts this weekend. You could come over and hang at my house for a bit. Or, we could go somewhere in London. I know this great restaurant next to this really cool theater. We could get dinner and see a show."

Leigh was about to open her mouth to tell him that it wasn't going to work out between them, but Noah, who had just entered the room, beat her too it.

"Back off Potter. She's not interested," he growled, coming to stand behind Leigh.

Harry glared at the new arrival. "I'd appreciate it if you would let the lady answer for herself."

"In any normal circumstance I would," Noah shot back. "But as it stands, Leigh has been through a lot, losing her memories and all. She doesn't need anyone, especially you, messing with her head."

"Boys," Leigh said sternly. The both turned to look at her. "Please, stop. I can't take this right now."

Noah sighed. "Sorry, Leigh." Harry remained silent.

"I need to get down to the potions classroom," the girl said, standing up. The sooner she figured out how to fix this mess, the better.

"I don't think so, Miss Kelson," Madame Pomfrey said as she entered the room, carrying an armful of potions. "Not until we fix whatever's wrong with you."

Leigh groaned. She didn't need this right now. What she needed was to go fix this mess, so that Harry and Draco never fought. How she was going to do that, she had no idea.

She could always do something to stop the prank from happening. That would prevent them from fighting. But, she hadn't had any flashbacks from that moment in time. Only once the slime had already fallen, and before the prank had even been set up.

Besides, according to Harry, the real reason of the fight was because of her. Was there even a way she could fix this?

A smile spread across her face as she thought of a way. She wasn't sure if it would even work, but at this point, she didn't have much of a choice.

"What?" Noah asked, "Leigh, what is it?"

Thinking quickly, Leigh raised her left hand to show the three of them the emerald ring that was still attached to her finger. Instantly, the two boys stiffened, their eyes widening in surprise.

"Who gave that to you?" Harry asked.

Leigh smiled. "No one." They relaxed again. "I found it a few days ago. Out in the courtyard. And I couldn't resist putting it on. And when I tried to take it off again, I couldn't. I mean, I must have run my hand under water for an hour. It wouldn't budge."

"Did you try using magic?" Noah asked.

The girl nodded. "Yeah, and it obviously didn't work. I didn't feel any magic coming off of it, so I figured I would just go talk to someone the next day. But when I woke up, my memories were all messed up."

"And you think it was the ring's doing?" Madame Pomfrey asked, reaching out to inspect Leigh's ring more closely.

Leigh shrugged. Of course she knew, but she couldn't exactly tell the mediwitch what was going on. "It's the only thing that makes sense."

The older woman sighed. "Ok, Professor Meriwether might have a potion in her stores that might help."

"I'll go get it," Leigh said, standing up. Noah's eyes narrowed. He obviously felt that she should stay and rest. For the first time, Leigh felt guilty. She must have really frightened the boy. Even though she didn't know him very well, she knew that he cared for her a lot.

"I'm coming with you," he said sternly. "Someone needs to be there if you decide to pass out again."

Leigh rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. She was a little worried about Noah being there when she opened the time hole, but if she understood exactly what happened, he would be frozen in time and wouldn't remember a thing when she was done.

"Let's go." Without looking behind her, she made her way out of the wing and started walking down the hall.

"Leigh," Noah called from behind her as he hurried to catch up. "Leigh, wait up."

"No can do, Noah," she said. "I'm a woman on a mission."

"Leigh," he called as she rounded the corner and began to make her way down the hall. "Leigh, this isn't the way to the dungeons. Leigh! Where are you going?"

"Transfiguration classroom," she responded as she hurried down the staircase and down another hallway. "I need my quill and parchment."

Noah didn't respond. His ragged breath as he attempted to keep up with her fast pace was the only clue that he was still following her.

As soon as they entered the now empty classroom, Leigh grabbed her bag that she had left there earlier. Sitting down at a nearby desk, she began furiously writing.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing?"

"Writing a letter." Was her response.

He sat down beside her, his green eyes fixed on her hand flying across the paper. Even though she was trying to write as fast as possible, her handwriting was still fairly neat. She had to make sure the letter looked genuine.

"A letter to whom?"

"Harry."

Noah's eyes widened. "Potter? Why?"

Leigh sighed as she finished and began to fold it up, printing Harry's name clearly on the front. "I can't explain right now ok? But hopefully this will fix things."

"Fix things?" Noah asked as Leigh stood up and began moving once more. "Leigh what the hell is going on with you?"

His hand closed around her wrist and he gently spun her around to face him. Leigh sighed. She knew she was acting like a wacko. But there wasn't much she could do. She had to get this letter to Harry's seat so he could read it before he and Draco got into a fight.

"I know I'm not making much sense right now. But I promise, I'll explain everything. You're just going to have to trust me on this one."

Something stirred in the depths of his emerald eyes, but it was gone before Leigh could tell what it was. "Alright," he sighed. "Let's go do whatever it is you have to do."

Leigh blushed as the two continued on their way, Noah's hand intertwined with her own. He looked down at her and smiled tentatively, silently asking if she was ok. The red-haired girl smiled and squeezed his hand in assurance. He wouldn't remember this moment anyway.

"I'll go grab Professor Meriwether," Noah stated as they entered the potion's classroom. "She's probably in her office."

"Noah," Leigh began, holding on tighter to his hand, preventing him from moving anywhere. "Noah, we're not here to get a potion from Professor Meriwether."

The boy frowned. "Then what are we here for?"

Leigh released his hand and reached into her pocket, pulling out the note she had written for Harry. "We're here so I can stop Harry and Draco from fighting."

"What? Leigh, that's impossible. You can't change the past."

Leigh raised her eyebrows, a sly smile on her face. "Can't I?"

She held out her left hand and the ring instantly began to glow. Noah watched with wide eyes as she drew a circle in the air in front of her. As soon as the circle was complete, time froze, and Noah remained beside her, unable to move.

"I hope this works," Leigh muttered to herself as she placed the note neatly at Harry's seat and closed the hole behind her.

* * *

><p>AN: Leigh's trying a second time to fix this problem. Will she succeede? I hope you're all enjoying the story. Review and let me know!


	6. Of Blue Dresses and Forgotten Uncles

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. That would be the almighty J.K. Rowling. **_  
><em>

_The days and months are drifting by_

_As though they didn't notice seasons changing in the breeze_

Chapter 6 - Of Blue Dresses and Forgotten Uncles

Leigh expected to be overcome with a piercing headache and random images once she opened her eyes. She was surprised when she was still standing in the potions room, as if nothing had changed. Except, it had changed. There was no longer a mess all over the room. It looked as neat as ever. Which meant…

Eager to test out her theory, Leigh turned around and headed up to the Great Hall, where the students were certain to be enjoying lunch hour with their friends.

As she entered the room, the girl breathed a sigh of relief. Harry was seated at the Gryffindor table, happily chatting with Fred and George Weasley. Probably sharing tactics with them that his father had bestowed upon him.

And Draco was seated safely at the Slytherin table, enjoying a ham and cheese sandwich alongside Noah. Leigh smiled as she made her way over to the table and took the seat in between the two boys, which had magically appeared as they saw her approach.

"Where have you been?" Noah asked as she reached over for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Nowhere, Mom," she said, a bit harsher than she intended. She noticed Draco smirking from the corner of her eye. Leigh didn't mean to be harsh towards Noah. But this had been one of the _longest_ days of her life. And even though it was only lunchtime, all she wanted to do was sleep.

"Sorry," she sighed. "It's been a long day."

Noah frowned. "Did something happen?"

"It has something to do with Potter, doesn't it?" Draco questioned. "He keeps looking over here with this weird look on his face." He paused, then added "not that he looks normal on any other day," as an afterthought.

Leigh smiled. "It's nothing. Really."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Come on Leigh. We know when you're lying."

The girl snorted. Sure they could. "You guys caught me. Harry asked me out this morning and I finally said yes. He's taking me home with him over spring holiday and then we're going to go off and elope."

Both boys, who had coincidentally taken a sip of their pumpkin juice at the same time, reacted violently to her sarcastic statement. Noah spit his out all over the table in front of him, earning weird looks from the two second years seated across from him. Draco took the opposite route and inhaled his, causing him to start coughing violently.

Leigh smirked as she began to pat him on the back. Boys. They really were ridiculous.

"You're what?" Noah asked, his eyes narrowed, looking at the contact between Leigh and the other boy.

"I thought you said you could tell when I was lying," she teased as she took another bite of her sandwich.

Draco looked at her, wiping the tears from his face "That's not even a little bit funny."

Leigh looked back and forth between the two boys. "Oh come on guys. You're overreacting. Would it really be that bad if I went on a date with Harry?"

"Yes," the answered simultaneously.

She rolled her eyes, but decided not to press the issue. She didn't understand why they hated Harry so much. From what she'd seen of him so far, she'd liked. He kind of reminded her of Fred and George Weasley.

"Speak of the devil," Draco muttered, glaring across the hall. Harry had stood up from his seat and was making his way over to their table. Leigh bit her lip absentmindedly. She really hoped he wasn't about to do anything stupid. She didn't know if she could break up a fight if both Draco and Noah decided to have a go at him.

"Hey Leigh, Snape, Malfoy," he greeted, his voice hardening noticeably when he spoke to the two boys.

"Bugger off Potter," Draco growled. "She doesn't want you here."

Harry's eyes narrowed, but he turned his attention away from the blonde, without spitting something back at him. An improvement.

"Leigh, I was wondering if I could talk to you, _alone._" He said the last word, pointedly looking at the boys on either side of her.

Noah and Draco tensed. The red-haired girl sighed. She was going to have to do something about the three of them soon. She didn't want any more fights breaking out.

"Yeah, sure," she responded, despite the protests from her Slytherin friends. "I'll catch you guys in Charms class."

Before they could say anything to stop her, she stood up and led the way out of the Great Hall and up the stairs. "Is this ok?" she asked as she ducked into an empty classroom on the second floor.

"Yeah, this is fine." He stared at her a while and Leigh waited patiently, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, right," he said, a blush rising to his cheeks. Leigh tried to stifle a giggle. He looked so adorable when he was flustered. "Um, well..." he started digging through his pocket and pulled out the note Leigh had left on his desk. "I found this in potions this morning. And…I wanted to make sure it was really from you."

Leigh nodded, smiling slightly. "It is."

The boy looked up at her, surprise etched on his face. "Really?" Leigh couldn't help but smile. He looked so excited.

She nodded. "Really."

"So you'll really go on a date with me?"

"Yes. But I'm standing by what I said in the letter. No more pranking for the sole purpose of humiliating someone you don't like. And no more fighting with Noah or Draco. They're my friends. And you can't tell anyone until I'm ready."

Harry nodded eagerly. "Ok. I can do that. I can."

"Alright," Leigh said smiling. "I'll see you Saturday night at 7. Here's my address." She took a step forward, and placed a piece of parchment in his pocket, feeling a rush at their close proximity and her daringness.

"I'll be there," he stated, his hand moving slowly to hers.

Leigh smirked. She was constantly surprised just how Slytherin she felt at times. "Don't blow this one, Potter," she said, heading for the door. "It might be the only chance you get."

The rest of the week passed by quickly and Leigh found herself standing on Platform 9 ¾ sooner than she thought possible. As students began to weave in and out of the crowds, searching for their families, Leigh just stood still. She had fed Draco and Noah some story about her wanting to go home in an attempt to regain some of her memories, so the two boys had remained at the castle.

Harry had ridden the train back with her. Hermione and Ron had remained at Hogwarts too, in an attempt to get a head start on their OWLS. But, in the chaos of getting off the train, Leigh had lost sight of the hazel eyed boy.

"Leigh." She turned around to find Harry behind her. He reached over next to her and grabbed her trunk. "This way. My dad's over there next to your uncle."

"Oh," was all Leigh could say. She honestly hadn't thought much about spending time with her uncle – without her family.

For the first time, tears sprung to her eyes, and she hastily pushed them back. How could her family be dead? She had just seen them at Christmas. They couldn't really be gone. And little Rosie – to never have even existed.

She wanted her mom. Leigh's mom always knew what to do in tough situations. She had been a Ravenclaw when she went to Hogwarts, and she was the wisest person that Leigh knew.

"Leigh?" Harry began, and then, before she knew it, his strong arms were wrapped around her and he was running his fingers through her hair. Right in the middle of the platform.

"I'm sorry," Leigh muttered, wiping away the moisture on her cheeks. "This whole memory loss thing has me really unstable."

Harry smiled sadly. "I'm sorry too. I forgot that you didn't know your parents had died until a few days ago. This must be really hard for you."

"It's fine," Leigh said, taking a deep breath. No more crying. She wouldn't cry in front of her uncle. An uncle she barely remembered.

Come to think of it, she wasn't exactly sure which uncle she was living with. She knew she had two. Her mother's brother, and her father's brother. She partially remembered her wizard uncle, Jim. He had attended some of her birthdays in past years. But as she grew older, she saw less and less of him. Her mother had said it was because he had grown very busy with his work at the ministry. Leigh thought it had been because her father had been a muggle. And Uncle Jim had never been entirely comfortable with his sister's choice of husband.

Leigh had never even met her father's brother. She knew he wasn't much older than herself. Nine or ten years at most. When her parents had been married, they had decided not to tell the young boy about the world of magic. It would only hurt him in the long run.

Harry smiled and waved wildly at his father. Leigh's eyes widened. James Potter was an older version of his son. They looked almost identical. The only difference was the shade of the eyes.

"Hey son," Mr. Potter greeted. "Who's your friend?"

"Dad this is Leigh," Harry answered, a wide smile on his face.

The older man looked shocked. "_This_ is Leigh?"

The young girl blushed. Had Harry talked about her to his father? "Pleased to meet you Mr. Potter." She extended her hand and James took it.

"The pleasure is all mine," he responded, glancing over at his son. "Are you two –"

"We have a date tonight," Harry answered.

James smiled. "Excellent. Leigh, I insist you come over before the two of you take off. My wife would absolutely love to meet you. Harry talks very highly of you."

Leigh blushed. She liked Harry's dad. "Ok. If it's alright with my uncle." She finally turned to the man standing beside James. He was young, with curly brown hair and bright blue eyes. And she didn't recognize him in the slightest.

"You're Leigh's guardian?" James asked shocked. Obviously he hadn't known when he had been talking to the man earlier.

Her uncle nodded. "I guess I didn't properly introduce myself. Benjamin Kelson. I'm her father's younger brother. Normally I meet Leigh out in the parking lot. I know, as a muggle, your people don't like having me on the platform. But I got a letter from one of Leigh's professors saying she had been having some health problems these past few days, and I thought I should meet her here instead."

"Health problems?" James asked. He was curious by nature, Leigh could tell.

She nodded. "I hit my head about a week ago. And since then I've been having a lot of trouble remembering things. That's why I came home. I wanted to see if I could spark anything."

"Has it worked so far?" her uncle asked worriedly. Leigh shook her head.

"No, sorry. If I act strangely, it's probably because I don't remember who you are."

Her uncle smiled and held out his hand. "Uncle Benjamin. But to you, it's Uncle Benny. You've called me that since you were two years old."

Leigh smiled and took his hand. "Nice to meet you Uncle Benny." It felt familiar rolling off her tongue. She doubted it was because she was remembering anything. More likely his charming personality was relaxing her and making her comfortable.

"Well," Leigh began, turning to Harry. "I should be going. You know how us girls need a lot of time to get ready. Where are we going again?"

Harry grinned. "It's a surprise. Dress really nice. Like, Yule Ball nice."

Leigh's grin echoed the boy's as she nodded her head. She was actually rather excited for tonight. Finally, a chance to relax and not worry about the crazy things that were happening in her life.

"Yes sir," she teased as she waved goodbye and followed Uncle Benny to his car.

* * *

><p>Leigh's heart leapt into her throat as she heard the doorbell ring. She hurriedly checked the clock. The boy was half an hour early! Luckily, she liked to take her time getting ready and had started way in advance.<p>

"Leigh!" Uncle Benny called from the kitchen moments later. "Harry's here!"

"Be right down!" she called back as she took one last look at herself in the mirror. She was dressed in an elegant medium blue gown with a slit running up the side and a one shoulder strap that sparkled with tiny crystals. Her hair was tied up in an elegantly woven bun with a few loosely curled strands to frame her face. Her makeup was done perfectly, and the outfit was completed with a silver necklace with a flower pendent and a pair of silver shoes.

Grabbing her shawl, Leigh carefully made her way down the stairs. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she wasn't sure if she was more worried about seeing Harry, or possibly tripping over her dress.

Luckily, she made it to the bottom of the stairs without incident. Harry was standing in the living room (which she still hadn't managed to remember) facing away from her, talking to Uncle Benny. The younger boy was dressed in a full tux and looked quite handsome from the back.

Her uncle was the first one to catch sight of her. He smiled, causing Harry to turn around. Their eyes locked and Harry's jaw dropped, his eyes widening behind his glasses.

"You look amazing," he breathed as he took a step forward. Leigh blushed.

"You don't look too bad yourself."

Harry laughed and held out his arm. Leigh took it, resting her palm on the top of his wrist.

"Have fun!" Uncle Benny called after them as they walked out the door. "Don't be out too late!"

"Ok!" Leigh called back, waving until he finally shut the door. She then turned to Harry. "How did you get here?" she asked curiously.

Harry blushed. "I walked," he answered sheepishly. "Your house isn't that far. Only a few blocks away."

"Really?" Leigh asked surprised. She hadn't remembered living next to Harry before all of this. Then again, she hadn't lived in her uncle's house back then. And Harry was now able to live with his parents in their house instead of with his aunt and uncle. So maybe they did live near each other.

He laughed. "Yeah. When we were younger I used to always walk by your house and ask if you wanted to come over and visit. You always turned me down."

"Do you know why I hated you so much?" Leigh asked after a while.

Harry sighed. "Well, I suppose I've acted immaturely in the past. And I was rather mean to…to Noah and Draco." He said their names with much difficulty, but Leigh appreciated the gesture. "And I was rather obnoxious when I asked you out. You had every right to hate me."

Leigh smiled at him and she could see his eyes light up. "You talk like it's all in the past."

Harry nodded earnestly. "Whatever it takes. I can change, Leigh. I really can."

The red haired girl stopped and turned to look at something behind Harry's head. "Is this your house?"

His eyes widened. "Yes. How did you know that?"

All Leigh could do was stare at the house. She had never seen it before. Not in once piece like this. But she had seen plenty of images of the house in shambles – blasted apart. This was the place where You-Know-Who met his downfall. Where Lily and James Potter had laid down their life for their son.

But James Potter was still alive. And so was his wife. And Harry's life had never been endangered. The family and the house were still in one piece.

"I recognized it," she said slowly as Harry led her up to the doorway.

"That's great," Harry said, grinning. "Maybe this means your memory is coming back."

It was hard not to share his enthusiasm. "Maybe."

Harry opened the door and Leigh could hear shouting inside. "Love, Harry and Leigh are here!"

"Coming," came a voice from what must be the kitchen. Leigh waited patiently, smiling warmly at Mr. Potter. She was anxious to meet Harry's mother. She had only heard wonderful things about the woman. About her fiery spirit and overwhelming love for her son.

Footsteps sounded and moments later, Mrs. Potter appeared in the doorway, dressed in a nice green sweater and a pair of blue jeans. Leigh looked up at the woman's face and froze, eyes open wide, unable to move.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey guys! It's been a while, but I'm back. To be honest, I sorta forgot about fanfiction in the busyness that was my summer. But I'm back in school, and though I probably will only have time to write on the weekends, I'm going to try my hardest to finish this story. If you're still reading it, let me know what you think! Thanks!**


End file.
